Casino job training rights sought

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A collection of community colleges and job training organizations asked the state gambling commission Tuesday to recognize the consortium as the “exclusive provider of licensure training” for casino-related jobs, drawing complaints from owners of a private casino dealer school who fear they could be forced out of the business.

The gambling commission has authority over nearly every aspect of casino development in Massachusetts, including the ­licensing of casino employees.

The consortium, known as the Massachusetts Casino ­Careers Training Institute, presented the commission with a proposal, under which the board and the institute would work together on issues of job training and licensing. The proposal, presented Tuesday, included exclusivity language, which would help ensure the quality of the training, said ­William F. Messner, president of Holyoke Community College.

Messner suggested a for-profit casino school could be included, but that did not appease representatives of the New England Casino Dealer Academy in North Attleboro, which has not yet opened.

“It looks like they’re trying to back-door this deal, get an exclusive, and push us out of the business before we start,” said Michael A. Tassoni, president and chief financial officer of the school, in remarks to the commission. “The community colleges have zero expertise in the casino business. Do they have any instructors who are qualified to teach?”